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Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

getspiralapp.com

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Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#21

Post by m1chael3ma »

realrocker wrote: post #15

Interesting. A couple years ago I worked on something similar, GrabHalo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grabhalo.m... . You really need to work on location tracking. Right now it pops up a dialog if GPS is not enabled. What if I don't want to give you my location upto the accuracy of few meters? Also how do you intend to solve the "Hello World" problem? You know, users checking in, saying 'Hi' and…

That’s good info on the user experience side. We might be able to implement something that allows people to just select their location, but then we’d be concerned that people just fake their location.

I guess we’re doing a few things that help with the “Hello World” problem: having an adjustable radius, focusing on conversation threads that you can go back to, and we’re also working on launching at local events and working with event managers.

Would be great to some insights on what worked or didn’t work for you?

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#22

Post by m1chael3ma »

djb_hackernews wrote: post #16

You'll need to solve the problems every other somolo app has, I'd do what Reddit did, fake accounts. Easy to determine the interesting stuff by surfing the city subreddits. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the negativity over Facebook login, I bet you'll find it doesn't add much friction for the average user. That said, I think this is a great app to use the Facebook anonymous login option.

Thanks for the feedback on the Facebook login.

We don’t really want to use fake accounts, but we could have some admin account that has information that’s interesting and just be a “Spiral News” or “Spiral Events” account? Would that be something that you’d find interesting or is content most interesting if it comes from a user only?

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#23

Post by [deleted] »

ripter wrote: post #19
jefurii wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...we shouldn’t fall back on anonymous as the only way to engage seriously in the public sphere. I don't think anyone is saying that anonymous should be the only way but it should be an option. It's not really a public space if you can't be anonymous.

Unless you are wearing a mask every time you go out in public. You're not anonymous. Whether or not you wear a mask does not change a space from being public or not public.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#24

Post by Jemaclus »

m1chael3ma wrote: post #21
realrocker wrote: post #15

Interesting. A couple years ago I worked on something similar, GrabHalo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grabhalo.m... . You really need to work on location tracking. Right now it pops up a dialog if GPS is not enabled. What if I don't want to give you my location upto the accuracy of few meters? Also how do you intend to solve the "Hello World" problem? You know, users checking in, saying 'Hi' and…

That’s good info on the user experience side. We might be able to implement something that allows people to just select their location, but then we’d be concerned that people just fake their location. I guess we’re doing a few things that help with the “Hello World” problem: having an adjustable radius, focusing on conversation threads that you can go back to, and we’re also working on launching at local events and w…

Who cares if I fake my location? If I'm in Berlin but I say I'm in London, does that really detract from anything? I can still talk to people, right?

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#25

Post by ggiaco »

Jemaclus wrote: post #24
m1chael3ma wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s good info on the user experience side. We might be able to implement something that allows people to just select their location, but then we’d be concerned that people just fake their location. I guess we’re doing a few things that help with the “Hello World” problem: having an adjustable radius, focusing on conversation threads that you can go back to, and we’re also working on launching at local events and w…

Who cares if I fake my location? If I'm in Berlin but I say I'm in London, does that really detract from anything? I can still talk to people, right?

It could ruin the experience of having conversations with people who are actually nearby?

Proximity makes communication more relevant and Spiral makes it easy to filter your feed by distance around you.

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#26

Post by wkdown »

m1chael3ma wrote: post #22
djb_hackernews wrote: post #16

You'll need to solve the problems every other somolo app has, I'd do what Reddit did, fake accounts. Easy to determine the interesting stuff by surfing the city subreddits. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the negativity over Facebook login, I bet you'll find it doesn't add much friction for the average user. That said, I think this is a great app to use the Facebook anonymous login option.

Thanks for the feedback on the Facebook login. We don’t really want to use fake accounts, but we could have some admin account that has information that’s interesting and just be a “Spiral News” or “Spiral Events” account? Would that be something that you’d find interesting or is content most interesting if it comes from a user only?

I would recommend being more transparent on why you use only FB and what data you use. That can help alleviate some anxiety over using it to sign in.

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#27

Post by wkdown »

ToastyMallows wrote: post #18
m1chael3ma wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the feedback. These are not easy product tradeoffs we’re trying to think through so we really appreciate the thoughts. We’re thinking of having our own login in the future. Right now, creating our own login would force users to go through a longer flow. Also we’re considering adding a friends filter, and Facebook’s social feed is probably the best starting point for that. Is there any sources of login you…

I'm not speaking for 27182818284 but I would rather sign in with Google than Facebook.

or Twitter or ...

Give them options, and they will sign in.

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#28

Post by dam-buty »

ggiaco wrote: post #25
Jemaclus wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who cares if I fake my location? If I'm in Berlin but I say I'm in London, does that really detract from anything? I can still talk to people, right?

It could ruin the experience of having conversations with people who are actually nearby? Proximity makes communication more relevant and Spiral makes it easy to filter your feed by distance around you.

It may depend on how you define local. For example, when i lived in Mexico, "local" news for me might have been news from my hometown in France, but GPS location would not let me see that.

Also, you might wanna consider the middle ground of just using "coarse" positioning, which is all you need to identify the city. GPS sensors cost an awful lot of battery life and should only be used for apps that need precise positioning, imho.

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#29

Post by dam-buty »

m1chael3ma wrote: post #10
eglover wrote: post #6

Not only is is app only, but facebook only. Why??

Definitely a point we’re constantly evaluating and feedback is appreciated. We think that by bringing some identity into the app there can be more useful interactions and bad behavior self-policed. We’re working off an assumption that people are, on the whole, pretty awesome, and we shouldn’t fall back on anonymous as the only way to engage seriously in the public sphere. What do you think? Would you add other social…

I really don't think the Facebook login is a barrier. Most people have it, and your audience is probably not privacy-anxious hackers but rather happy-go-lucky social media users. I wouldn't bother too much about it.

Adding other social logins, though, would be a good idea. And Github is now an id provider, so why not integrate that? Surely the startup community would feel less blocked by this :)

Re: Show HN: Spiral – A Reddit-inspired local message board app

#30

Post by realrocker »

m1chael3ma wrote: post #21
realrocker wrote: post #15

Interesting. A couple years ago I worked on something similar, GrabHalo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grabhalo.m... . You really need to work on location tracking. Right now it pops up a dialog if GPS is not enabled. What if I don't want to give you my location upto the accuracy of few meters? Also how do you intend to solve the "Hello World" problem? You know, users checking in, saying 'Hi' and…

That’s good info on the user experience side. We might be able to implement something that allows people to just select their location, but then we’d be concerned that people just fake their location. I guess we’re doing a few things that help with the “Hello World” problem: having an adjustable radius, focusing on conversation threads that you can go back to, and we’re also working on launching at local events and w…

I am no longer associated with the project. I built the first version. You could probably go through the app reviews on play.google.com to get ideas.
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